Below-the-waist undergarments for either male or female usually take the form of close fitting briefs or loose fitting shorts having abbreviated legs, the later often being referred to as "boxer shorts." While significant possible comfort associated with the looseness of boxer shorts may be acclaimed by many, that aspect of the product is frequently offset by the tendency of the shorts to ride up on the leg of the wearer, bunching the fabric, and making for discomfort and unsightly bulges and wrinkles under outer clothing. The riding up and subsequent bunching of the material of the shorts occurs because of the friction between the material of the shorts and the outer garment.
As far back as 1922 there was at least one documented attempt to solve the problem of the bunching of undergarment material. The resulting product was the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 1,419,940 to M. N. Mills. While one of the objects of the inventive undergarment disclosed in that patent was to prevent bunching, nothing was really said in the description of the invention that would explain how that objective was achieved. The patent describes a petticoat hanging from a common waistband with underlying drawer or bloomer legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,586 to Deon C. Munjone describes athletic shorts with inner and outer layers, but the inner layer appears to be much like the drawer legs of the aforesaid Mills patent, that is, structurally independent of the outer shell of the garment. Munjone shows no recognition of the riding-up problem as one to be solved by inner and outer layers of material. Nor should he, because the pair of athletic shorts disclosed in the Munjone patent is intended as an outer garment.
The lower body garment of the Popa et al., disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,378, is one having a lining and an outer shell, the two being integrally knit at the waistband and joined by a continuous longitudinal leg enclosing seam. The patent specification suggests that capturing both the lining and the shell by the longitudinal seam will keep the lining in place, suggesting that the lining would ride or bunch up, similar to the material of the boxer shorts, if not held in place. The lining of the Popa et al. lower body garment is analogous to the material of ordinary single-ply boxer shorts. But, in order to prevent bunching or ride-up, it is not practical to actually attach the boxer shorts to the outer garment, as Popa et al. have done with the lining of their patented garment.
Garment linings for coats, trousers and skirts, either full or partial, are old in the art. However, as seen by the foregoing relevant patents, the concept of utilizing a full lining for an under garment, such as boxer shorts, has not been implemented to provide this popular type of apparel with features of maximum comfort and enrichment of outer garment appearance.
Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a loose fitting undergarment that will not be subject to bunching or riding up on the leg of the wearer.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.